By Shelli Carlson

S2L1. Students will investigate the life cycles of different living organisms.

a. Determine the sequence of the life cycle of common animals in your area: a mammal such as a cat of dog or classroom pet, a bird such as a chicken, an amphibian such as a frog, and an insect such as a butterfly.

Table of Contents

All About LadybugsLadybug Anatomy Ladybug Life Cycle

Time spent in stages of the Life CycleLadybugs and AphidsTypes of Ladybugs

Ladybug Spot ChartLadybug FactsBug CamBug by Jack PrelutskyBooks about ladybugsWeb Resources

All About LadybugsLadybugs are a kind of beetle. Beetles are insects.  They usually have very small oval shaped bodies. Most of them have red, orange, or yellow elytra (hard wing covers) and black spots. The wings under the ladybug's elytra are so thin that you can see through them.Some ladybugs have spots and some have no spots at all!  The number of spots helps to identify the kind of ladybug.   Like all insects, the ladybug has six jointed legs. There are special organs on their feet to help them smell.  The ladybug uses its antennae to touch, smell and taste.  

Ladybug Anatomy

Ladybug Life Cycle

Eggs

Pupa

Adult

Larva

There are 4 stages in the life cycle of a ladybug.

The egg stage lasts for about 1 week.

The larva stage lasts for about 3 weeks.

The pupa stage lasts for about 1 week.

The adult stage can last for up to 12 weeks.

Average Number of Weeks in Each Stage of a Ladybug’s Life

Egg Stage

1 Week

Larva Stage

3 Weeks

Pupa Stage

1 Week

A dult Stage 12

Weeks

Ladybugs and Aphids

Many people like ladybugs because they eat tiny green insects called aphids. Aphids eat plants. People are glad that ladybugs keep aphids away from their plants!

Types of Ladybugs

Convergent

Can you count the spots on each type of ladybug?

Seven Spotted

Kuwanae

Asian

Propylea

Yellow Ladybug

How many spots on each kind of ladybug?

A sian

Convergent

K uwanae

Propylea

Seven

Spotted

Yellow0

5

10

15

20

25

Asian Convergent Kuwanae Propylea Seven Spotted Yellow

20

13

2

14

70

Ladybug factsThere are nearly 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs worldwide.There are 400  kinds of ladybugs in North America. A female ladybug will lay more than 1000 eggs in her lifetime. A ladybug beats its wings 85 times a second when it flies.   Ladybugs chew from side to side and not up and down like people do. A gallon jar will hold from 72,000 to 80,000 ladybugs. Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so that birds and other predators won't eat them. The spots on a ladybug fade as the ladybug gets older. Ladybugs won't fly if the temperature is below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The male ladybug is usually smaller than the female. The Asian Lady Beetle can live up to 3 years.

BUG CAM

Watch live ladybugs on Bug Cam. Click on the little ladybug below to watch

these cute little creatures in action!

Bugby Jack Prelutsky

On the window of the washroom,At our school the other day,

A little bug was crawling in its buggy little way.

I whispered for it to be quite and to not make any noise.

You see, it was a ladybugAnd the washroom is for boys.

By Eric Carle

by Andreas Fischer-Nagel

by Judy Allen and

Tudor Humphries

Great Books About

Ladybugs!

by Kathleen Weidner-Zoehfeld

by John Henshaw

by Scholastic

by Loretta Rizzattiby Michael Elsohn Ross

By David Schwartz

Web Resources

Visit these great websites to learn more about ladybugs!

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/Ladybug.shtml

http://www.sccgov.org/channel/0,4770,chid%253D195493%2526sid%253D12761,00.html

http://www.kunafin.com/ladybugs.htm